Mary Ross Smith
Mary was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, the youngest of five children. Her family moved to Los Angeles, California in 1947. Both parents were entrepreneurs. Her mother was the founder of a prominent African-American mortuary in Los Angeles, and her father owned a service station. She grew up in Los Angeles and spent most of her young years in the funeral home where she learned the details and secrets of that business. Her young life was very troubled and sometimes threatened thus causing her to seek refuge among the dead. Mary’s two books use humor and drama to reveal mortuary life.
What’s Mary’s Genre?
Nonfiction & Fiction/Romance
What’s Mary’s Inspiration?
“I wrote Soul Survivor to heal me, but soon found out that everyone has a story. My goal is to inspire others to know that life is about choices; they can make a change in their life, no matter how bad things are today. Something good can happen tomorrow. Never give up!“
What are Mary Ross Smith’s books about?
Soul Survivor
Amazon.com Book Description:
“…explores the depths of human emotions, both real and imagined. That any of us reach adulthood in one piece, emotionally or physically is a miracle of no small proportion. That any of us reach adulthood to contribute back to society and become highly respected in the community is truly a gift of time and place. …a true story of fortitude, an iron will and looking to the future in the hope that tomorrow will be better than today. …nothing less than a story of triumph. “Little Mary” Reese spent her childhood living, working and playing in a funeral home. Her mother, Mrs. Mary (“Big Mary”) Reese, was well known and respected in the African-American community in Los Angeles through the operation of a prestigious black funeral home. Little Mary’s story tells what really happens behind the embalming room doors—the light and dark side of life. [This book] is both humorous and mischievous, and talks of sex, murder, voodoo, preachers and deviate gravediggers. Famous entertainers that passed through Little Mary’s life include Redd Foxx, Lou Rawls, Sam Cooke, Billy Preston and Johnny Cochran. Little Mary was born in 1944 in the South, reared in the Southwest and was often disparagingly referred to as “high-yellow.” During racial tensions of the ‘50s and ‘60s, Little Mary found her hue to be a major issue but not her only problem. Mary’s mother caused her to endure life-threatening situations due to her drinking and wild ways. Little Mary’s childhood experiences, the mental and physical abuse faced each day, led her to believe that her only true friends were the dead people in the funeral home. Indeed, Little Mary received a BS degree (Be Smart) at an early age. It was the only way she knew to survive. Little Mary’s story is an unlikely but revealing peek into the unexpected and in the end, truly a story of a Soul Survivor.”SOS
“Challenge you to look at the person behind the pulpit!“
To reach Mary Ross Smith, buy her books, or schedule a book-signing event:
- Website: www.maryrosssmith.com
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Facebook: facebook.com/mary.r.smith
- Email: maryrosssmith@msn.com
- Twitter: @msmith67877
- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/maryrosssmith
- Other: P.O. Box 74484 Phoenix, AZ 85087
- Buy Sites for eBook:
- SOS: Amazon.com; Barnes & Noble;
- Soul Survivor: Amazon.com; Barnes & Noble;
Editing Addict, LLC 